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SNA News and Notes
SNA News and Notes
Issue 4, July 1996
Milestones for SNA implementation
Upon request of the Statistical Commission the ISWGNA has developed a set
of recommendations for a phased implementation of the 1993 SNA. The so called
'6 Milestones' on the long and winding road to full SNA implementation are
presented in the table and are explained in more detail below.
The purpose of defining these
general guidelines is to be able to assess the state of national accounting
in individual countries and the progress made over time. As was stressed
repeatedly by the Statistical Commission, the SNA implementation is essentially
a country responsibility. Countries may therefore choose a different path
to implementation that they find better suited to their needs and technical
and financial resource priorities.
Phases of implementation
The first two phases described in the table refer
to those parts of the SNA that have the most immediate and general use for
policy makers. Consequently, many countries have already implemented these
'traditional' phases. Phase 1 contains basic gross domestic product (GDP)
data at current and constant prices by final expenditures and by industries.
In combination with the trade balance from phase 1, phase 2 provides the
rest of the world account, which is now fully consistent with the IMF Balance
of Payment (BOP) System. At the end of phase 2, countries can calculate
gross national income, national disposable income, national saving and net
lending/borrowing.
| Phase |
General description
|
Detailed description
|
| Pre-SNA phases |
Basic data |
Data on production, trade,
prices, etc. |
| Phase 1 |
Basic indicators of grossgross
domestic product (GDP) |
Final expenditures on GDP,
current and constant prices; GDP by industry at current and constant
prices |
| Phase 2 |
Gross national income and
other primary indicators |
External account of primary
incomes and current transfers; capital and financial accounts for
the rest of the world |
| Phase 3 |
Institutional sectoraccounts:
first steps |
Production accounts for all
institutional sectors; generation of income, allocation of primary
income, secondary distribution of income, use of income, capital and
financial accounts for general government |
| Phase 4 |
Institutional sector accounts:
intermediate steps |
Generation of income, allocation
of primary income, secondary distribution of income, use of income,
capital accounts for all institutional sectors other than general
government |
| Phase 5 |
Institutional sector accounts:
last of the transaction accounts |
Financial accounts for all
institutional sectors other than general government |
| Phase 6 |
Other flow accounts and balance
sheets |
Other changes in asset accounts
for all institutional sectors; balance sheets |
Phases 3, 4 and 5 involve the development of comprehensive flow accounts
for the institutional sectors. Phase 3 involves the compilation of the new
production accounts, which are an innovation of the 1993 SNA, and a full
set of the accounts for general government. There are quite reliable sources
for these accounts in most countries, and the main balancing items - government
saving and net lending - are of particular interest for economic policy.
The breakdown of GDP by cost components may be developed in phase 3 at the
same time as the production accounts by sector, which are understood to
include the generation of income account as well. In phase 4 the accounts
are extended to sectors in which data sources are generally weaker; there
is particular interest from a policy point of view in the accounts of the
household sector and the non-financial corporations, and if priorities are
assigned within this phase, the accounts for these sectors should be compiled
first. Phase 5 completes the transaction accounts for institutional sectors
with the compilation of financial accounts.
Phase 6 refers to the "other flow
accounts and balance sheets". Completion of the other changes in asset
accounts can only be achieved by countries with a highly developed system
of basic data, including a wide range of price statistics and detailed
information on stocks of produced and non-produced assets. Balance sheets
are fully integrated for the first time in the 1993 SNA.
Complementary data systems
At each phase countries must choose whether to allocate
resources to moving to the next milestone or to improving estimates from
earlier phases. Their choice should also depend on the availability and
quality of complementary data systems. The basic data shown for the pre-SNA
phase include statistics on agricultural and industrial output, foreign
trade, prices, employment, retail trade, construction output and household
expenditures. Under phase 1, complementary data systems include supply and
use worksheets in current and constant prices with limited product detail,
which are recommended in order to improve consistency between value added
and expenditure data. Other items include the BOP System and government
finance and monetary statistics, which are being aligned with the corresponding
parts of the 1993 SNA, so that data compiled for them can be transferred
into the SNA accounts with minimum adjustments.
Complementary data systems for
phase 3 include capital stock statistics (closing stocks of fixed assets
by industry), which are important for analytical use. If the perpetual
inventory method is used for these estimates, basic data requirements
are relatively modest, so that they may be compiled by some countries
which have passed only the first 2 or 3 milestones. In addition to providing
data on capital stocks, this approach would also allow for estimating
the consumption of fixed capital. The BOP stock statistics refer to the
international investment position (IIP) reflected in the balance sheet
of the stock of external financial assets and liabilities.
SNA-related data and developments
Countries may decide to implement some refinements
and additional accounts as they move through the milestones represented
by phases 2 through 5.
Chief among them are quarterly
and regional accounts, the former having proved of great value to monitoring
short-term economic developments. Input-output tables are also included
under this heading. Satellite accounts, particularly for the environment
are currently being implemented by several countries. The United Nations
system for satellite accounts in this area is designed to be flexible
allowing to proceed on a step-by-step basis.
Use of the milestones
As mentioned before the development of these milestones
has been motivated by two considerations: (1) to give countries some orientation
on a phased introduction of the 1993 SNA; (2) to create a yardstick in order
to measure progress in the overall implementation process worldwide.
Consequently, the UN Statistics
Division and the Regional Commissions, are presently working on an assessment
of all countries based on these milestones. The national accounts data
that countries provide annually to the UN Statistics Division as well
as the 'implementation survey' conducted last year are serving as a basis
for this exercise.
It is expected that this detailed
study of individual countries will lead to a better understanding of which
technical support services will be needed by countries from the international
statistical community. The milestone approach should also prove useful
to identify subregional characteristics to which special attention will
have to be given.
Clarification of conceptual issues
The treatment of seignorage profits from the issue of coins in the 1993
SNA and in the Manual of Government Finance Statistics (GFS) 1986.
The 1986 GFS states: "....
Seignorage profits on the issue of coins, however, whether coming from
the central bank or from a function of the monetary authorities to be
separated from government are included in government revenue along with
other central bank profits transferred to government" (page 62).
The SNA, however, without explicitly
addressing the topic of seignorage profits from the issue of coins establishes
the principle that both, notes and coins are universally treated as liabilities
within the system (para. 11.70). Consequently, there was agreement in
the ISWGNA that the full face value received by the government from sales
of coins (other than commemorative coins that do not enter the money supply)
should be recorded as a financing transaction which increases the government's
liabilities under currency and its assets under deposits. The cost to
government of producing the coins (or purchasing them from a separate
institutional unit) should be recorded as a gross consumption expenditure
and not netted in any way against the receipts from issue.
Training activities in the field of national accounts
Many institutions are offering
a variety of training programmes related to the new SNA. Two of the programmes
are presented in the following:
Training of European Statisticians (TES):
The purpose of the TES project is to enhance the vocational training of
European statisticians and to give them the opportunity to participate
in international seminars at postgraduate level. TES is carrying out several
training courses which are held in English or French. The following course
will be held in French: National Accounts in Practice,
26 May - 6 June 1997, registration deadline: 24 January 1997. Further
inquiries should be made through TES Secretariat in Luxembourg, tel. +352-346869-31
or 37, fax +352-346873.
IMF Institute: The IMF Institute
carries out training as an important complement to policy advice and financial
assistance that the IMF is providing to its member countries. Several
courses are offered in various fields and in different languages. The
following two courses are in English: Money and Banking Statistics,
February 3 - March 14, 1997, closing date: September 6, 1996. Public
Finance, May 5 - June 27, 1997, closing date: November 29, 1996.
Further inquiries should be directed to IMF Institute, tel. +202-623-6660,
fax +202-623-6490.
News about SNA dissemination,
multimedia and internet
1993 SNA in Arabic:
After the English version the 1993 SNA is now also available in Arabic.
1993 SNA on CD-ROM: The 1993
SNA is now available on CD-ROM. It may be ordered from the Publication
Sections of United Nations, European Union or OECD at the price of US$
120.- (ISBN 92-1-161379-5). Contact faxes:
UN New York 1-212-963-4116;
UN Geneva 41-22-917-0027;
EU Luxembourg 352-2929-42027;
OECD Paris 33-1-4910-4299.
SNA News and Notes polyglot:
SNA News and Notes now also in Spanish and French. Thanks to
a generous offer of cooperation from the Mexican National Statistical
Insitute (INEGI) and from the Statistical Commission of the European Communities
(Eurostat), the SNA newsletter will now also be available in Spanish and
French! The Mexican INEGI has started its translation service with issue
no.3, which has already been distributed in Spanish speaking countries.
Eurostat will produce the French version as of this issue No.4.
SNA News and Notes on the internet:
SNA News and Notes can be electronically accessed on the internet.
Go to the homepage of UNSD (http://www.un.org/Depts/unsd) and choose between
its various issues and languages!
SNA implementation and
IMF data standards
The last issue of this newsletter
contained a report about the "IMF initiative to improve economic and financial
data" (see SNA News and Notes, issue 3, January 1996, page 4).
The following article addresses how the implementation of the 1993 SNA
can benefit from the IMF initiative.
Each country trying to enhance
its statistical system has to make decisions on how it will devote its
scarce resources according to its data needs. Since the IMF indicators
are focussing on production, financial and price data, all data required
are explicitly or implicitly included in the SNA. The implementation of
the first of the "milestones" (see first Article of this newsletter) would
serve most of the IMF requirements. In those instances that additional
efforts are needed to compile data, would not only serve the IMF demands,
but they would also improve the quality of national accounts.
The IMF initiative requires not
only annual, but also quarterly and monthly data. Compiling selected short
term data is already a practice in national accounts departments in many
countries. What should, however, be done is to link up this work in a
more effective manner with the integrated approach of national accounts.
Combining the SNA approach which
is more geared towards middle and long term economic analysis, and may
be extended towards environmental and social areas, with the IMF initiative,
will lead to an integrated framework of data which will allow a broad
scope of analysis: For example, on one hand the IMF initiative could strengthen
efforts to provide more short term information within the SNA and on the
other hand middle and long term effects of monetary or financial policy
decisions could be assessed within the SNA framework and especially within
its environmental and social extensions.
Meetings and seminars
The Indonesian Government (Ministry
of Environment and Central Bureau of Statistics) will hold a seminar on
Environmental Accounts for Indonesia in Jakarta on 2-6
September 1996 with the support of UNSD and World Bank.
The South Africa Government (Reserve
Bank and Central Statistical Service) will hold a workshop on the Implementation
of the 1993 SNA on 11-13 November 1996 in Pretoria with support
from UNSD, OECD and the World Bank.
On 17 May 1996 the World Bank
hosted a one-day seminar on the 1993 SNA and related statistical
systems for the State Planning Commission (SPC) of China. A follow
up seminar sponsored by UNDP will be held in Beijing in August 1996.
ECA will hold a workshop on SNA
implementation for French-speaking African countries in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, from 14-18 October 1996.
ECA has also carried out a course
on 1993 SNA and its implementation in North African countries
which was held in English and French from 10-14 June 1996 in Tangier,
Morocco. A second bi-lingual course was a joint UNSD/ECA Workshop
on statistics on services in the informal sector which was held
from 17-21 June 1996 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A detailed report on that
subject is available at ECA and UNSD.
Manuals and handbooks
OECD has published, in English
and French, Value added in services at constant prices.
For August 1996 two manuals are scheduled: Inflation accounting
and Quarterly national accounts. With respect to functional
classifications COICOP is being finalized following comments
sent by OECD, EU and UN member countries; COFOG in its
first revised draft has been circulated for comment by OECD and EU member
countries, a second draft will be circulated to UN member countries in
Autumn; COPNI is in its first draft and will be widely
circulated for comment in Autumn 1996.
Editorial note
SNA News and Notes is
a bi-annual information service of the ISWGNA prepared by the Statistics
Division of the United Nations (UNSD). The member organizations that constitute
the ISWGNA are
- European Union,
- International Monetary Fund,
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development,
- United Nations Statistics Division
and Regional Commissions, and
- World Bank.
SNA News and Notes does not necessarily express
the official position of any of the members of the ISWGNA. For further details
on the agenda of ISWGNA and the spirit
of the newsletter see issue 1 of SNA News and Notes. For any
further information on SNA News and Notes, for comments or for
subscribing the newsletter free of charge, please contact:
Statistics Division
Economic Statistics Branch
United Nations
Room DC2-1720
New York, NY 10017, U.S.A.
Fax: +1-212-963-1374
E-mail: sna@un.org
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